How many versions of The Goldberg Variations do you own, and which one is your favourite? I have:

Piano:
Angela Hewitt
Murray Perahia
Glenn Gould (both versions)
Andras Schiff (Decca)

Harpsichord:
Gustav Leonhardt (on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)

Other:
Uri Caine (various instruments, expanded to 72 variations!)
Jozsef Eotvos (guitar transcription)

Can one ever have too many?!

Regards
Nigel

i have both glenn gould goldbergs.

i also have a cd of Father Sean Duggan. i don't know what it's availability is. we went to music school with him. it's quite excellent.

that's all.

Two - Keith Jarrett and Andras Schiff - on ECM

quote:

How many versions of The Goldberg Variations do you own, and which one is your favourite? I have:

Piano:
Angela Hewitt
Murray Perahia
Glenn Gould (both versions)
Andras Schiff (Decca)

I have all the ones mentioned above as well as:

Rosalyn Tureck on Deutsche Grammophon
Andrei Gavrilov on Deutsche Grammophon
Wilhelm Kempff on Deutsche Grammophon
Andras Schiff on ECM

Karl Richter on Deutsche Grammophon
Ralph Kirkpatrick on Archiv Production

and probably a few more that I can't remember now.

On order right now for me is Simone Dinnerstein and the Richard Egarr on Harmonia Mundi.

quote:

Can one ever have too many?!

No way ! Each interpreter offers something and its good to hear new ideas from different perspectives and even in ways that challenges us and turns our world upside down initially. This is a necessary part of musical growth and enrichment.

But everyone should at least own one version as it is such a treasure.

Nigel,

In addition to what you already own I'd be tempted to recommend the Rosalyn Tureck for you. I say it with some reservation though because it just may not be your thing ultimately. If you want something that is different from the rest of the pack this is the one. I find this one valuable because as a pianist, I just marvel at her absolute control as she takes a slower, maybe even "studied" approach. It's very beautiful actually and the voicing is stunning. (It's actually more difficult to play the piano slowly and softly)

Also, I just saw the music room posts. Thanks Haim for keeping me in the poor house. Maybe in the new year I'll seek out Ito Ema. I've seen you post this one many times before but had actually forgot about it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Doug

Currently I'd have to say that Schiff's ECM recording is my favorite. His playing has an energy and structural coherence that's impossible to beat. Perahia's is also excellent, though more studio-bound (of course).

I have two of Gould's three recordings (there's also a live, CBC recording from the '50s that I haven't heard), and I definitely prefer the 1981 recording, though I listen to Gould with decreasing frequency. I used to own one of Tureck's recordings but found it too long, slow, and uninvolving. I also have Kempff and I'm thinking about ditching it, which would be a first for a Kempff CD. I love his other Bach recordings, but this unfortunately uses the Busoni edition of the Goldbergs and just doesn't sound right.



--

Well, quite a lot. From the top of my head:

Harpsichord versions:

Helmut Walcha (EMI)
Ralph Kirkpatrick (Archiv)
Hans Pischner (Berlin Classics)
Martin Galling (Vox)
Gustav Leonhardt I (Vanguard Classics)
Gustav Leonhardt II (Telefunken)
Gustav Leonhardt III (DHM)
Huguette Dreyfus (Denon)
Blandine Verlet (Astreé)
Christophe Rousset (Oiseau Lyre)
Pierre Hantaï I (Op 111)
Lars Ulrik Mortensen (Kontrapunkt)
Masaaki Suzuki (BIS)
Joseph Payne (BIS)
Ton Koopman (Erato)
Pieter-Jan Belder (Brilliant Classics)
Bob van Asperen (EMI)
Scott Ross (live recording, Erato)
Scott Ross (studio recording, EMI)
Maggie Cole (Virgin Classics)
Trevor Pinnock (Archiv)
Kenneth Gilbert (Harmonia Mundi)
Christiane Jaccottet (Intercord)
Sabine Meyer (Ars Musici)
Ottavio Dantone (Decca)
Fabio Bonizzoni (Glossa)
Marga Scheurich (Da Camera)
Jory Vinikour (Delos)
Eleonore Bühler-Kestler (Charade)
Kenneth Weiss (don´t remember the label at the moment)
Robert Hill (live, Ars Musici))

I may have forgotten a few.

Add to these four organ versions (Lagacé,Barshai,Guilou and Volke)
and two piano versions (Koroliov,Canino).

I used to own the two Karl Richter versions (Teldec and Archiv) as well as the second Wanda Landowska version and the
Milicent Silver version and three more piano versions (Crossland, Gould 1981 and a young Danish pianist, who´s name I don´t recall at the moment), but I have parted with these.

Still there are serious omissions in my collection (e.g. Pierre Hantaï II, Ketil Haugsand, Celine Frisch).

But to tell which one, I prefer, is impossible. They are rather different, and most of them have got something valuable to offer.

If I had to choose only one, I would choose the colourful Mortensen, and my second choice would be the strict Walcha, third choice probably the playful Meyer.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd A:
I also have Kempff and I'm thinking about ditching it, which would be a first for a Kempff CD. I love his other Bach recordings, but this unfortunately uses the Busoni edition of the Goldbergs and just doesn't sound right.

I have not heard Kempff´s recording, but I heard him play the work at a recital at the time of his recording, and this was a dreadful long unvaried keyboard sauce to these ears, much inferior to the Bach recordings I know from his hands.

quote:

Originally posted by droodzilla:
Can one ever have too many?!

Certainly not.

Only three here at the moment:

Walcha and Leonhardt [third recording on DHM] each playing the harpsichord and Ito Emo on piano.

Others I have owned were:

Hantaii [first recording on Opus III] which I gave to a friend to [successfully] convert him to the work, and Bach more widely.

Nicholeaeva [playing the piano on Hyperion] which again was given to another friend for the same reason as Hantaii's recording, again with success.

Pinnock [on the harpsichor on DG/Archive] which I did not quite get on with.

Turreck in the studio [forgotten label] on a piano, and which like Pinnock, I did not quite get on with but this time for the slowness, which Walcha shows is not necessary for th music to have impact and depth of expression.

Some others which left insufficiewnt impression to recall with accuracy ...

George

quote:

Originally posted by pe-zulu:

quote:

Originally posted by droodzilla:
Can one ever have too many?!

Certainly not.

I'm impressed. With my 3 or 4 I'm a mere amateur.

I started with the Goldbergs by looking for a version because it was recommended as one of Bach's best works [I was reading a book on Bach].

I bought the NAXOS version [his was maybe 5-10 years ago]. It was boring !!

I gave up on the Goldbergs. Then I saw a version in a sale at a record shop and decided to try again ...

I got the Joao Carlos Martins version [I had never heard of him] and it was super. [Quite short -- I think he skips repeats -- but full of passion].

Then I got a harpsicord version [Edich Prict Axenfeld] which I enjoyed [and still do].

Then Glenn Gould 1981 [??] stereo which turned me into a fan of Gould. Then the Gould 1951 [??] mono recording.

I have a few other versions [Hewitt, Rosen, an arangement for string orchestra -- avoid -- and Koroliov].

James H.

ends==

Slightly off topic but have a look at ...

www.jsbach.org

.. for more vesrions of the Goldbergs BWV 988 [I looked it up].

James H.

I had a Saturday job with Goldbergs in Glasgow when I was a student in the 70s. Does this count?

I want to add another one:

Jacques Loussier Trio on Telarc.

Maybe not pure Bach, but pure joy.

Best wishes

Manfred

Thanks for all the replies folks! I'm gonna declare pe-zulu the winner (not that this was ever a competiition). In terms of where I go next, it looks like Ito Ema is a must, and I'd really like to track down the first Hantai set. Beyond that I'm tempted by Walcha on harpsichord and Tureck on piano, as I fancy something a little strict - though I guess I ought to try before I buy either.

Does anyone have any thoughts on Schiff's first recording? It doesn't get much play in my house, which is odd, as I really enjoy his WTC.

Regards
Nigel

Some others which left insufficiewnt impression to recall with accuracy ...

i know her...

I have only 3 versions : (

my favourite being Harpsichord played by Helmut Walcha:



highly recommended imho. Available from cdjapan at 1429yen + p&p


...the other two:

1955 recordings Glenn Gould piano, and Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord

nymph

2: Gould 81, and Angela Hewitt. The latter being the one I play.
3, if you count the Gilded Goldbergs, by Robin Holloway. These are fun.
ATB
SJ